History TearJerker / TheRailwaySeries

[[caption-width-right:350: ''"Engines on the Other Railway aren't safe now. Their controllers are cruel. They don't like engines anymore."'']]

* The first story, "Coal", immediately sets the tone where we learn that Henry's illness is getting more and more serious. No matter what the works on Sodor have done, nothing seems to work, and the Fat Controller is at the end of his rope, seeming ready to send Henry away, much to the sadness of his crew and Henry himself.

* Duck feeling betrayed by Gordon, James and Henry in ''Dirty Work'', thanks to Diesel's lies and manipulation. Although it isn't in the book, Duck is shown to be ''crying'' in the TV version. [[TheWoobie Poor guy...]]

* The severity of Donald and Douglas' situation. Only one had been bought by Sodor, and the other was to be withdrawn and subject to the scrapper's torch. It's only a deputation by Percy which saves them.

** The Author foreword slighty lightens this, stating that British Railway Controllers are ''not'' cruel, and are left very sad and guilt ridden at having to get rid of their faithful steam engines and contributing to the steamies' slow, but horrible extinction, hence why the Bluebell Railway and its preservation is so beloved.

* How about the very first bit in ''Duck and Dukes''? We, the audience, know things are going to be totally fine, but when Duck says that all engine dukes are scrapped, Peter Sam is sent into a turmoil thinking that [[MentorArchetype Granpuff is dead]]. And we don't even know how Sir Handel took it either.

* The last part in ''Granpuff''. Duke being sheeted up because he was deemed "too old", while Falcon and Stuart get sent off to [[WordOfGod The Aluminum Works Plant at Peel Godred]]. Once the engines served their purpose in aiding in the plant's construction they were tarped and stored, and then the two engines wound up on the SKR [[IHaveManyNames under the names of Sir Handel and Peter Sam respectively]]. And Sir Handel and Peter Sam [[SecretKeeper talked about Duke when alone]], for a good ''22 years''. Tell me that isn't depressing!

* Edward in "Edward's Day Out" has been shut in the shed for a long while and mocked by the other engines for no longer being good enough for service. Edward is visibly in tears until the driver takes pity on him.
* Henry being locked up in the tunnel in "The Sad Story of Henry", with no steam to even talk back to the engines passing by. No wonder publishers demanded a HappyEnding through "Edward, Gordon and Henry".

* In "Troublesome Trucks", James is so sad and remorseful about the events that led to him being shut in the shed that he actually starts crying. Luckily, it's short-lived as he's let out on the very next page.

* The book pulls no punches that steam engines are becoming redundant, and any engine that is [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness no longer "very useful"]] gets ''scrapped''. The books portray this fear of modernization like it's an metaphorical evolutionary war between past engines like the Steam engines and future engines such as the Diesels, and the Steamies are [[DyingRace losing this war and are slowly going extinct]]. Sodor is played as the only safe place left for Steam engines and now [[FridgeHorror Diesels are starting to come to Sodor]]. If the Diesels' takeover becomes too hostile for the Steamies to cope with, it might not be long before the Railway Series shifts from WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends to [[HostileShowTakeover Diesel & Friends...]]
** The explanation of Steamies getting scrapped is accompanied by the chilling image above of a couple of dilapidated engines in the scrapyard awaiting their fate from a workman's blow torch with a broken look on their faces:
-->''"Engines on the Other Railway aren't safe now. Their controllers are cruel. They don't like engines any more. They put them on cold damp sidings, and then," [[BreakTheCutie Percy nearly sobbed]], "they...they c-c-cut them up." ''
** The author foreword worsens this, stating the British railway controllers are ''not'' cruel, and are left very sad and guilt ridden at having to get rid of their faithful steam engines and contributing to the Steamies' slow, but horrible extinction, hence why the Bluebell railway and its preservation is so beloved.

* Gordon in "Tenders for Henry" when he finds out from boasting diesels that all his brothers were scrapped, save Flying Scotsman, and himself. In spite of this awful news, he carries on with his express duties. Serves as a double dose of heartwarming, as the Fat Controller feels so sorry for him, he arranges for Flying Scotsman to visit him as quickly as possible.
** Not explored in The Railway Series, but it's implied in the books that Scotsman is owned by Alan Pegler, the real life owner of the engine at the time. Shortly after the year ''Enterprising Engines'' was set, Pegler arranged to send Scotsman to North America to tour the US and Canada (stricter regulations meant Pegler was not licensed to drive the Flying Scotsman on the British mainline, but he was able to get the certifications needed to be recognized as a locomotive engineer in the US where he could continue to operate it). Pegler suffered a bankruptcy and divorce during the tour, eventually leaving Scotsman ''impounded'' in the US in a dock outside of San Francisco. Eventually the engine was successfully repatriated and returned to Britain, but there was a brief time where many worried Scotsman would be scrapped in the US; and even then being stored outside meant once the engine was rescued its paint was chipped and weathered and it had begun to show rust spots (though was still in good enough condition to be driven to the works under his own power). If we assume these real life events played out in the Railway Series as well (very likely due to how the books reflect the real world), we can only imagine Gordon's reaction to knowing his ''only'' surviving brother was sitting in an impound lot half a world away and potentially facing the cutter's torch!
** Also not explored in The Railway Series, but Gordon is the only engine who is seen to be sad that most of his brothers have been scrapped. The reactions of the other engines to the scrapping of their own siblings is open to interpretation, [[FridgeHorror but for all we know, many of them would be most likely as devastated as Gordon]], ''especially'' [[LastOfHisKind Thomas, Edward, and Toby]], [[TheWoobie all of whom lost]] ''[[TheWoobie all]]'' [[TheWoobie their siblings to the scrapper's torch]].

* After years of being the proud express engine, Gordon ''retires'' from his signature train and is replaced by Pip and Emma. Although Gordon still enjoys a nice retirement pulling local passenger trains, it still shows that even on Sodor TimeMarchesOn and that the foretold day of the diesels replacing steam has happened. Furthermore, Gordon takes it rather well a sign of his character growth and seeing his arc come to a conclusion is emotionally satisfying.

* The book pulls no punches that steam engines are becoming redundant, and any engine that is [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness no longer "very useful"]] gets ''scrapped''. The books portray this fear of modernization like it's an metaphorical evolutionary war between past engines like the Steam engines and future engines such as the Diesels, and the Steamies are losing this war and are slowly going extinct. Sodor is played as the only safe place left for Steam engines and now [[FridgeHorror Diesels are starting to come to Sodor]]. If the Diesels' takeover becomes too hostile for the Steamies to cope with, it might not be long before the Railway Series shifts from WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends to [[HostileShowTakeover Diesel & Friends...]]

** One subtle but effective narrative detail is the story noting that Henry was genuinely trying his hardest to pull his train, only for it be in vain. Being established as melodramatic and self important engine quick to abandon his duties in previous stories, the fact Henry [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness so wanted to prove he was dependable this time]] makes clear his condition is ''very'' real.

* How about the very first bit in ''Duck and Dukes''? We, the audience, know things are going to be totally fine, but when Duck says that all engine dukes are scrapped, Peter Sam is sent into a turmoil thinking that [[MentorArchetype his Granpuff is dead]]. And we don't even know how Sir Handel took it either.

* After years of being the proud express engine, Gordon ''retires'' from his signature train and is replaced by Pip and Emma. Although Gordon still enjoys a nice retirement pulling local passenger trains, it still shows that even on Sodor TimeMarchesOn and that the foretold day of the diesels replacing steam has happened. Furthermore, Gordon takes it rather well a sign of his character growth and seeing his arc come to a conclusion is emotionally satisfying.

[[AC:Meta/Other]]
* The manner most of the original illustrators for the novels left is quite saddening. William Middleton was considered not good enough after one book and [[UnPerson had his work redrawn and forgotten]], Reginald Payne suffered a nervous breakdown after his first book and was unable to take service again, C. Reginald Dalby left after being offended by one too many criticisms from Awdry over his work, while John T. Kenney had to quit illustrating due to failing eyesight.
** Dalby also died in 1983, ''one year'' short of ''Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends'' airing. Especially tragic since Dalby's work is often considered the most influential in creating the television series, meaning Awdry's most controversial illustrator never got to see his vindication.
* How the series ''ended'' behind the scenes can feel like this. As the television series became more popular, it started creating heavier restrictions on Christopher's writing, forcing him to write books on Thomas instead of developing his own plans for Sodor. Not only that, but his father had to watch the producers take his work, then play fast and loose with it to increase its appeal to the international market, which was the ''exact'' fear he had when Andrew Lloyd Webber attempted to adapt the stories. That fear came true, and while he died peacefully, Britt Allcroft herself snatched up the copyright and sent it off to Egmont, who proceeded to republish the books in a chopped-up format that was poorly received, ultimately causing the stories to fade away, with only two more books published after 1996, ending in 2011. It can leave a sour taste in one's mouth knowing how these books were essentially ''taken away'' from the very family that had spent so much time developing them, and for those ideas and themes to be cast aside and/or simplified to boot, making the messages of the current show, and the intent of producers themselves, from Allcroft to Mattel, seem extremely [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]].
** Also Christopher got in a dispute with an associate Christine Chappel (who some sources say Chris had a brief affair with, which Chris denied) who claimed the author had plagiarized ideas for Thomas stories from her, and the case wound up in court. A few short years later, she was ''murdered'' by one of her extended family members and her body was found washed up on a beach in chains in 2000. The British press further sensationalized it by pointing out Christine was a male to female transgender woman, and used that to headline most articles on the murder; while also publishing articles showing Christine's connection to the Awdry's. Its unknown how or if the claims of plagiarism and the later death & surrounding media circus surrounding Christine affected Chris's writing (since Egmont had put the books out of print anyways and had shown no interest in new volumes), although since it all occurred in the gap between the 1996 and 2007 publishing dates of the 40th and 41st entries in the book series, it isn't likely. Regardless, it's not a pleasant thing to deal with. Link right here: [[https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5515521.chelmsford-sex-swap-bodys-childrens-writer-link/]]
* AdaptationDecay in particular with the later seasons of Thomas & Friends and then the All Engines Go reboot, mean that many are now not exposed to the original books or anything really resembling them. This is a sore point for many fans, who are upset to see a parade of clickbait articles which take the darker elements of the original books out of context usually painting the series as some sort of "authoritarian hell-scape propaganda" and keep getting away with it too just due to a general lack of knowledge about the original series outside of the die hard fans. Its very difficult to explain how the books condensed real life history and railway practice into easy child friendly stories, to people who might only be familiar with the CGI series or All Engines Go and their general nonsensical story telling.

* How the series ''ended'' behind the scenes can feel like this. As the television series became more popular, it started creating heavier restrictions on Christopher's writing, forcing him to write books on Thomas instead of developing his own plans for Sodor. Not only that, but his father had to watch the producers take his work and play around with it in ways to appeal to the international market, which was the ''exact'' fear he had when Andrew Lloyd Webber attempted to adapt the stories. That fear came true, and while he died peacefully, Britt Allcroft herself snatched up the copyright and sent it off to Egmont, who proceeded to republish the books in a chopped-up format that was poorly received, ultimately causing the stories to fade away, with only two more books published after 1996, ending in 2011. It can leave a sour taste in one's mouth knowing how these books were essentially ''taken away'' from the very family that had spent so much time developing them, and for those ideas and themes to be cast aside and/or simplified to boot, making the messages of the current show, and the intent of producers themselves, from Allcroft to Mattel, seem extremely [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]].

* Adaptational decay in particular with the later seasons of Thomas & Friends and then the All Engines Go reboot, mean that many are now not exposed to the original books or anything really resembling them. This is a sore point for many fans, who are upset to see a parade of clickbait articles which take the darker elements of the original books out of context usually painting the series as some sort of "authoritarian hell-scape propaganda" and keep getting away with it too just due to a general lack of knowledge about the original series outside of the die hard fans. Its very difficult to explain how the books condensed real life history and railway practice into easy child friendly stories, to people who might only be familiar with the CGI series or All Engines Go and their general nonsensical story telling.

** Also Christopher got in a dispute with an associate Christine Chappel (who some sources say Chris had a brief affair with, which Chris denied) who claimed the author had plagiarized ideas for Thomas stories from her, and the case wound up in court. A few short years later, she was ''murdered'' by one of her extended family members and her body was found washed up on a beach in chains in 2000. The British press further sensationalized it by pointing out Christine was a male to female transgender woman, and used that to headline most articles on the murder; while also publishing articles showing Christine's connection to the Awdry's. Its unknown how or if the claims of plagiarism and the later death & surrounding media circus surrounding Christine affected Chris's writing (since Egmont had put the books out of print anyways and had shown no interest in new volumes), although since it all occurred in the gap between the 1996 and 2007 publishing dates of the 40th and 41st entries in the book series, it isn't likely. Regardless, it's not a pleasant thing to deal with. Link right here: [[https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5515521.chelmsford-sex-swap-bodys-childrens-writer-link/]]

** To top this off, Skarloey, and presumably Rheanes, Rusty and Duncan don't take this seriously, not even the Thin Controller.

** Not explored in The Railway Series, but its implied in the books that Scotsman is owned by Alan Pegler the real life owner of the engine at the time. Shortly after Enterprising Engines was set, Pegler arranged to send Scotsman to North America to tour the US and Canada (stricter regulations meant Pegler was not licensed to drive the Flying Scotsman on the British mainline, but he was able to get the certifications needed to be recognized as a locomotive engineer in the US where he could continue to operate it). Pegler eventually suffered a bankruptcy and divorce leaving Scotsman ''impounded'' in the US in a dock outside of San Francisco. Eventually the engine was successfully repatriated and returned to Britain, but there was a brief time where many worried Scotsman would be scrapped in the US; and even then being stored outside meant once the engine was rescued its paint was chipped and weathered and it had begun to show rust spots. If we assume these real life events played out in the Railway Series as well, we can only imagine Gordon's reaction to knowing his ''only'' surviving brother was sitting in an impound lot half a world away and potentially facing the scrapper's torch!

** Also Christopher got in a dispute with an associate Christine Chappel (who some sources say Chris had a brief affair with, which Chris denied) who claimed the author had plagiarized ideas for Thomas stories from her, and the case wound up in court. A few short years later, she was ''murdered'' by one of her extended family members and her body was found washed up on a beach in chains in 2000. The British press further sensationalized it by pointing out Christine was a male to female transgender woman, and used that to headline most articles on the murder; while also publishing articles showing Christine's connection to the Awdry's. Its unknown how the claims of plagiarism and the later death & surrounding media circus surrounding Christine affected Chris's writing, although it all occurred in the gap between the 1996 and 2007 publishing dates of the 40th and 41st entries in the book series.[[https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5515521.chelmsford-sex-swap-bodys-childrens-writer-link/]]

** Also not explored in The Railway Series, but Gordon is the only engine who is seen to be sad that most of his brothers have been scrapped. The reactions of the other engines to the scrapping of their own siblings is open to interpretation, [[FridgeHorror but for all we know, many of them would be most likely as devastated as Gordon]], ''especially'' [[LastOfHisKind Thomas, Edward, and James]], [[TheWoobie all of whom lost]] ''[[TheWoobie all]]'' [[TheWoobie their siblings to the scrapper's torch]].

** Also not explored in The Railway Series, but Gordon is the only engine who is seen to be sad that most of his brothers have been scrapped. The reactions of the other engines to the scrapping of their own siblings is open to interpretation, [[FridgeHorror but for all we know, many of them would be most likely as devastated as Gordon]], ''especially'' [[CoolOldGuy Edward]], [[TheWoobie who lost]] ''[[TheWoobie all]]'' [[TheWoobie his siblings to the scrapper's torch]].

** Also Christopher got in a dispute with an associate Christine Chappel (who some sources say Chris had a brief affair with, which Chris denied) who claimed the author had plagiarized ideas for Thomas stories from her, and the case wound up in court. A few short years later, she was ''murdered'' by one of her extended family members and her body was found washed up on a beach in chains in 2000. The British press further sensationalized it by pointing out Christine was a male to female transgender woman, and used that to headline most articles on the murder; while also publishing articles showing Christine's connection to the Awdry's. Its unknown how the claims of plagiarism and the later death & surrounding media circus surrounding Christine affected Chris's writing, although all it occurred in the gap between the 1996 and 2007 publishing dates of the 40th and 41st entries in the book series.[[https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5515521.chelmsford-sex-swap-bodys-childrens-writer-link/]]

* The last part in ''Granpuff''. Duke being sheeted up because he was deemed "too old", while Falcon and Stuart get sent off to [[WordOfGod The Aluminium Works Plant at Peel Godred]]. Said project went bust, and then the two engines wound up on the SKR [[IHaveManyNames under the names of Sir Handel and Peter Sam respectively]]. And Sir Handel and Peter Sam [[SecretKeeper talked about Duke when alone]], for a good ''22 years''. Tell me that isn't depressing!

* How the series ''ended'' behind the scenes can feel like this. As the television series became more popular, it started creating heavier restrictions on Christopher's writing, forcing him to write books on Thomas instead of developing his own plans for Sodor. Not only that, but his father had to watch the producers take his work and play around with it in ways to appeal to the international market, which was the ''exact'' fear he had when Andrew Lloyd Webber attempted to adapt the stories. That fear came true, and while he died peacefully, Britt Allcroft herself snatched up the copyright and sent it off to Egmont, who proceeded to republish the books in a chopped-up format that was poorly received, ultimately causing the stories to fade away, with only two more books published after 1996, ending in 2011. It can leave a sour taste in one's mouth knowing how these books were essentially ''taken away'' from the very family that had spent so much time developing them, and for those ideas and themes to be cast aside and/or simplified to boot, making the messages of the current show, and the intent of producers themselves, from Allcroft to Mattel, seem extremely [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]].

[[caption-width-right:350: ''"They put them on cold damp sidings, and then,"'' Percy nearly sobbed, ''"they...they c-c-cut them up."'']]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''They put them on cold damp sidings, and then," Percy nearly sobbed, "they...they c-c-cut them up." '']]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''"Engines on the Other Railway aren't safe now. Their controllers are cruel. They don't like engines any more. They put them on cold damp sidings, and then," Percy nearly sobbed, "they...they c-c-cut them up." '']]

[[caption-width-right:350: Remember ''[[TearJerker/ThomasAndFriends The Sad Story of Henry?]]'' Well here is a more dire Sad story and it's not just about Henry.]]

* The book pulls no punches that steam engines are becoming redundant, and any engine that is [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness no longer "very useful"]] gets ''scrapped''. The books portray this fear of modernization like it's an metaphorical evolutionary war between past engines like the Steam engines and future engines such as the Diesels, and the Steamies are losing this war and are slowly going extinct. Sodor is played as the only safe place left for Steam engines and now [[FridgeHorror Diesels are starting to come to Sodor]]. If the StatusQuoIsGod gets subverted, it might not be long before the Railway Series shifts from Thomas and Friends to [[HostileShowTakeover Diesel & Friends...]]